“I think the CIS has to do what’s best and it’ll be very difficult to say no to Halifax. The guns are all loaded, let’s make it happen.”

Although the tournament has been held in Charlottetown, Moncton and Fredericton in the past, no Nova Scotia community has hosted a men’s university hockey championship in the 51-year history of the event.

Halifax, for instance, was the host city for the CIS Final 8 basketball tournament for about 25 years, which meant it wasn’t going to get the University Cup at the same time.

The idea of a joint bid is the brainchild of X-Men head coach Brad Peddle. He approached Stienburg following the most-recent University Cup, which the Huskies lost to the UNB Varsity Reds in Saskatoon.

“We’re limited in Antigonish in terms of our facility,” Peddle said. “It’s a great hockey town and they would support this but the facility is something we can’t change. The CIS wants a bigger facility in a bigger place.

“So why not swing for the fence and try to get this thing to Halifax. We have two longstanding, traditional schools in St. F.X. and Saint Mary’s. You get the best of both worlds. There’s a mutual respect between both programs and I think this just speaks to it.”

The bid deadline to host the 2015-16 tournaments is Aug. 30. The bid committee is seeking a commitment of 3,000 ticket packages by Aug. 23.

The CIS will announce its decision on Sept. 15.

Notes: Saskatoon will host the 2014 University Cup. ... Dalhousie made unsuccessful bids to host nationals for the 2011-12 and 2013-14 contracts.